


The Study of a Strange Phenomenon

by GingerSnipps



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Genderfluid Virgil, Ghost Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Ghost Deceit | Janus Sanders, Ghost Morality | Patton Sanders, M/M, Not all of them, enby janus, except this time they make sense, get ready for more musical references, i had this one betaread so hopefully theres less mistakes than in annoyance assassin, i pulled a stupid and didnt think of a title for this so the current title might be temporary, idk if these tags are necessary but ah well, idk its my favourite musical let me have this, kind of, ooh theres a tag for that nice, trans Logan, um spoilers for... the first chapter ig but ghost sides
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-02
Updated: 2021-02-02
Packaged: 2021-03-13 04:07:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29147181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GingerSnipps/pseuds/GingerSnipps
Summary: Ghosts weren't real. And yet, Logan had just seen one. One that left him with questions, and those questions needed answers.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders, Deceit | Janus Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 10
Kudos: 12





	The Study of a Strange Phenomenon

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back! And with a new story! This was supposed to be based off a tumblr post, and then my brain said 'nope' and wrote something completely different. So I guess I'll save that other idea for later ;)  
> And now onto trigger warnings: death (the whole story is kind of centred around death so be careful), language, Remus

It was a normal day. The sun was shining, the children outside were screaming, and Logan sat hunched over at his desk, losing his concentration in direct proportion to his sanity. 

He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes in frustration. Living in the city was convenient… at times. But the longer Logan stayed here, the more irritated he became by the noise. The city was _loud_ . Children always shrieking and laughing outside his apartment, neighbours who tried to talk to him, strangers on subways who never seemed to realize their own volume while on the phone, the vehicles, construction , every footstep that echoed off the buildings and into the streets- everything was just so _loud._

And Logan couldn't focus on anything. All he wanted was soundproof walls so he could write and study in peace. But he couldn't afford that. 

So, he did the next best thing and left the city a week later. 

~

It wasn't hard as he'd imagined, finding a new place to live. There happened to be a perfectly nice (and fascinatingly historic) old house just a few miles out of town. It was also… a bit suspiciously inexpensive. The house was enormous, and Logan would have figured it'd be worth a fortune. His realtor told him most people wouldn't touch it since that rumour of it being haunted got spread around. 

“That's preposterous.” Logan had said. “There is very little scientific evidence that supports the idea of ‘ghosts’. …But I suppose I shouldn't complain.” 

“I wouldn't believe it either,” Said the realtor. “But people will think what they wanna think.” He had instructed Logan to make a few signatures before saying, “And you're all set! Enjoy the new house, sir.” 

“Of course, thank you Mr. Sanders.” 

“Oh, call me Thomas. Mr. Sanders sounds too formal.” 

Logan recalled the conversation as he stood before his new place of residence. He could certainly see why people thought it was haunted, despite not believing it himself. It was comprised of a dark, rich wood, with overhangs that cast long, looming shadows over the stepping path. One could say a sense of eeriness radiated from its very foundation, but Logan simply appreciated the quiet and stillness of it. There was no one around. No obnoxious civilians to bother him while he worked, and not a sound was heard in the air save for the wind. Just complete solitude. It was perfect. 

He breathed deeply, finally at peace, before walking silently up the path and to the front doors. He unlocked them and opened only the one on the left, as opening both was excessive. Upon stepping inside, he removed his shoes so he wouldn’t track in snow, and hung his coat and scarf on a rack to the right. It was pitch black, so he set down his bags and searched around for a light switch. He found it and flicked it on, but only about three-fourths of the lights turned on, coating the room with a dim glow. 

He decided he may as well explore, and so he ventured from the entryway to what he presumed to be the living room. The cold floorboards creaked softly under his feet, years of disuse causing them to cry out and exclaim news of a visitor to the rest of the house. 

The living room was large and dark. There were two sofas with outdated and yellowed patterns, and an equally hideous love seat was stationed between them at an angle. The north wall held a wide window with curtains that had been feasted upon by moths and mice alike. The entire room was blanketed by a thick coat of dust and smelled of mildew and rot. It would need to be fixed up—Logan suspected the whole house would. But he could do that in time. 

The thing that stole his attention, however, was the small coffee table in the middle of the room. The table itself was simple enough, nothing special. But it was what it held that puzzled the man. Because there sat a chess set. But this chess set wasn't covered in dust like everything else in the room. In fact, it appeared as though it had been recently used. The black pieces looked to be still in play, while the white were scattered about the floor and table. 

Now that was quite odd. Mr. San- Thomas had said no one even came near this house. And yet, Logan could have sworn one of the white pieces still rocked microscopically back and forth, as though it had been knocked down seconds ago. 

“Hello?” Logan called out. His voiced reverberated throughout the house. “I'll have you know, this is private property and you are trespassing.” 

Silence. 

“I will not hesitate to have you arrested.” 

Still nothing. Not a sound besides Logan's own breathing. 

_Very well_ . He thought. _They must have already left._ That was it. They had left and now Logan was finally going to have complete and utter silen- 

“Hah! Good luck with that, mortal!” 

* * *

“I move to seduce your king.” 

“That's not how chess works, Remus.” 

Remus rolled his eyes. “Well sure it is, I just take my king piece, use it to fuck your king piece, and then I win.” 

“Right, a move that no one has ever used in the millennia this game has existed was in the rules the whole time.” Janus snatched their king piece back from Remus and put it back on the board. 

“You people just lack imagination.” 

“At least I don't lack sophistication.” 

The sound of the front door opening rang through the house and the two of them froze. 

“Drop the pieces!” Janus hissed. 

Remus went above and beyond and knocked over _all_ of his pieces. It was lucky they didn't clatter too loudly on the rug under the coffee table. 

“Oh fantastic…” Janus muttered. “Now we'll have to start all over.” 

“I think it's another daredevil kid. You wanna go scare the shit out of ‘em?” Remus whispered. 

“They're too quiet to be a kid.” Janus pointed out. “Besides, they turned the lights on. Kids never do that.” 

“Oh, they're coming in here. Shh!” Remus slapped a hand unnecessarily over Janus’s mouth. 

“I'm being quieter than you.” Was their muffled response. 

A man in a blue necktie and glasses stepped into the room, surveying the area. Remus and Janus watched him curiously from the corner of the room, attempting to figure out who he could be and why he was there. 

His gaze focused on the remains of their chess game and Remus received a swift punch to the arm that didn't hurt him at all but got Janus's message across. 

“Hello?” Said the man. “I'll have you know, this is private property and you are trespassing.” 

Private property? No one had lived there in ages. 

“I will not hesitate to have you arrested.” 

Remus put all his conscious effort into keeping quiet. He failed almost immediately. 

“Hah! Good luck with that, mortal!” He taunted. The man jumped and looked around for the source of the outburst. Janus facepalmed as Remus floated up from the corner and hovered above the intruder. 

“What do you mean, ‘good luck with that’?” The man seemed surprisingly calm. That was annoying. 

Remus made himself visible and dropped from the ceiling in front of the man. “Well, where would I go? Ghost jail?” 

The man gasped softly. “What- who- who are you?” 

“I'm the source of all your nightmares!” Remus grinned maniacally, making a point to show off his abnormally sharp teeth. 

“Is that so?” Remus was growing increasingly frustrated with how calm this guy was. 

“Well sure-" 

“Can you prove that?” 

Ugh. A nerd. 

“Probably. But that's not the point.” 

“Then what _is_ the point? What are you here for? Who even are you, and what are you doing in my house?” 

“ _Your_ house? Bitch, please. I've been here for centuries.” 

That got him. The man blinked in confusion. “That's- that's impossible.” 

“I did say I was dead, didn't I? Janus, I told him I was dead right?” 

Janus rolled their eyes and flipped him off. 

“Fine, fuck you too.” 

“I- I don't understand.” Oh yeah. The guy was still there. And not screaming. 

“Look, I don't know what I need to do to get you to leave, but could we maybe hurry it up a bit? I've got places to be, people to murder-" 

“You're really a ghost?” 

Remus rolled his eyes back into his head. “ _Yes,_ obviously, what part of that did you manage to miss?” 

“But… there's no scientific evidence supporting the supernatural-" 

“That's ‘cause most people have common sense and _leave_ when a ghost tries to scare them.” 

“Can I study you?” 

That's a new one. 

“What, like sexually or-" 

“No… for science.” The man said. Remus gave him a curious look. 

This man intrigued him. He wondered why anyone would _want_ to live all the way out here, away from civilization. Remus, of course, was relatively trapped in this house, but this guy had chosen to come to this secluded, run-down, ~~ghost~~ pest-infested house in the middle of nowhere. Why? 

“Fine.” He said after a pause. “But I'm not leaving the house.” 

“Well, as much as I'd love to stick around and dance,” Janus said from their corner. “I will be leaving, because I simply _adore_ people.” 

“Who is that?” The nerd man said, trying to place where the second voice had come from. 

“That's none of your business.” 

Remus scooped up the mess of chess pieces from the floor and dumped them carelessly into the box. He handed it to Janus, who took it without a word. 

“Seeya later, _Janus_.” He put emphasis on their name to answer the flesh man's question. 

“I hate you.” They disappeared with a hiss. 

Remus grinned and turned back to the man. “So, what's your name?” 

The man cleared his throat. “Logan Raymond. And you are?” 

“You can call me Remus.” 

“Okay… Remus. So…” Logan began pacing back and forth. “You're dead.” 

“Sure am.” 

“I'm assuming you died in this house?” 

“Hey now, I never said I'd make it easy for you.” Remus said, sticking out his tongue. “It's not really fair if I just tellyou everything right off the bat, just like that, is it?” 

Logan rolled his eyes. “I suppose not.” 

“Well, I'll let you get settled in, I guess. Give you some time before _I kill you_.” He made sure to deepen his voice on that last part to deliver the right effect. 

Unfortunately, it was worthless, as Logan didn't even blink. “Wait, first, I'd like to establish some… ground rules.” 

“Rules are boring.” 

“I don't care. I'd rather if I wasn't suffocated in my sleep because of a loophole.” Logan said firmly. 

“Fine. What are your ‘rules'?” Remus crossed his arms. 

“Well… Since I legally own this house _currently_ , I have control over what happens to it.” 

“I mean it's not like I can really do anything, anyway.” Remus demonstrated this by phasing his hand through the sofa. 

“And… I’m not sure if you’re... capable, but no harming me or others.” Logan adjusted his glasses. 

“Aw... Alright...” 

“The last thing— _for_ now—is… I want it quiet. I only moved out here because I was under the impression I would be undisturbed. I would appreciate if I was not misled.” 

“Hmm, we'll see about that one.” Remus winked. “I’m not typically very good at quiet.” 

Logan stared flatly at him. “It's really not that difficult.” 

“Hm, I don't have to let you stay here, y'know.” 

“You're right.” Logan agreed. “But I think there's a reason you haven't evicted me yet. If you had nothing to gain, you wouldn't allow me to stay at all.” 

Remus raised an eyebrow and his expression darkened. “Well, aren’t you a smartass? You think you’ve got me all figured out.” 

“No, I don’t. That’s why I want to study... you. I was only even made aware spirits existed minutes ago.” 

“Right.” 

“Right, well. I should be unpacking.” Logan said. “Care to point me in the direction of the bedroom?” 

Remus chose that moment to disappear. Like he said, he didn’t want mortals living in his house, so he wasn’t going to make it easy for this nerd. 

* * *

“Well then. How polite.” Logan rolled his eyes. He picked up his bags and left the living room, still processing what exactly had just happened. Ghosts weren’t real. And yet, he’d just seen one. And he didn’t seem to be all that friendly, that much was clear. There was that other ghost too, whom Remus had called Janus, but why were they invisible? Why _wasn’t_ Remus invisible? Where did they come from? Where did they go? How and when did they die? 

He pondered question after question as he walked up a flight of stairs. He hadn’t really any idea where he was going, but he figured he’d eventually have to end up somewhere. 

And he soon did. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he entered the first door to his right and found himself in another dark and dusty room. He found the lights and set down his luggage. He’d found the bedroom first try. Excellent. 

There was just as much dust in this room as there was the rest of the house, if not more. Logan could almost taste the dust particles that flew into the air as he took a seat on the bed. He ruefully awaited the day he’d get a chance to clean up a bit. 

For now, though, he simply began unpacking. He still had work to do. 

~ 

The next morning was just as grey and dull as the last, but it was peaceful. As Logan slowly got up and ready for the day, he just enjoyed the quiet stillness that the house provided. He again decided, as it had been interrupted the day before, to explore the rest of the house. 

It was a rather large house; it seemed every corridor led to another which led to another and each was lined with doors. After quite a while, he’d eventually opened every door and found nothing particularly interesting except for one room. It was a room on the third story, with wide windows and a few random pieces of furniture. It was the furniture that puzzled Logan. Most of the other rooms were completely empty, as one would expect from a house they’d just moved into. The only real furniture was very old and in terrible condition. However, the furniture in this room didn’t look old at all. It wasn’t particularly new or pristine, but it was in better shape than the rest of the house. It was rather odd, and Logan was beginning to notice that there was quite a lot of ‘odd’ in this house. 

It was late morning when he realised he’d have to buy groceries and general supplies. He’d packed some things, of course, but he hadn’t had much at his old apartment anyway, and now he had much more space for probably anything he could have wanted. He decided to start with necessities, though. 

“You’re leaving?” 

Logan jumped just like last time. “I’d appreciate if you didn’t do that.” 

Remus was in front of him very suddenly. “Do what?” Directly in front of him. With microscopic levels of space between them. 

“ _That._ ” Logan replied. “Where you say something while I can’t see you—I'm assuming you have some sort of ability that lets you control your visibility—to intentionally startle me.” 

Remus feigned hurt and pouted. “Aw, but it’s so fun to watch you jump every time.” 

Logan slowly slipped his coat and scarf on. “I assure you, it’s not nearly as fun for me.” 

“Whatever. Where are you going, anyway?” The ghost asked. “Off to butcher some orphans?” 

“No. And that’s horrible.” 

“Hmm, what about setting a building on fire?” 

Logan shook his head. “What purpose would that serve?” 

_“Fire.”_

“If you must know, I’m going on an errand trip. I need to pick up groceries.” Logan explained. 

Remus rolled his eyes. “That’s boring.” 

“I suppose I can’t really disagree with you there.” Logan nodded but said nothing more as he left the house. It still bewildered him that there was a ghost that—first of all _existed_ —but was also living in his house. 

~ 

There was a small town that wasn’t far from his new house, within walking distance but still not close enough to ruin his isolation. It was a lot closer than the city anyway. As he walked through the streets, a small corner café caught his eye. Deciding he could stop for a coffee, he hung a left and walked up to the store. 

‘The Royal Roast Café' the sign read. An interesting name to be sure. 

The inside was even more... interesting. It was bright, _very_ bright. The walls and countertops were pearl white with gold trim and the seats and booths were a lavish and vibrant crimson. There wasn’t a single dark area save for one small corner in the far right of the shop where a light was out. Logan stepped inside slowly, blinking at the radiance before a brunette in a shirt that matched the colour-scheme waved at him from behind the counter. 

“Hello, my good sir!” The cashier said cheerfully. “What can I get you on this fine morning?” 

Logan internalised a fleeting feeling of gratification at being immediately assumed a ‘sir’ and ordered a simple black coffee. 

He decided to sit in the darkened corner to give his eyes a break and to be alone. He had only been there for a few minutes though, just sitting and staring off into space, when a low voice interrupted his thoughts. 

“You’re in my corner.” 

“Hm?” Logan looked up to see a small-ish person in dark clothing looking... well not _down_ at him, about eye level, really, even though he was sitting. 

The person jumped as though they hadn’t expected Logan to hear them. “That’s uh... sorry. I just usually sit here alone. I guess I just wasn’t expecting someone else to sit here.” They tugged at their sleeves anxiously. 

“Oh, my apologies, I was just leaving-” 

“No, no, it’s fine!” They assured. “I’ll go and... sit somewhere else.” 

“Really, it’s quite alright.” Logan said, getting up from his seat. “I should be going anyway; I was just distracted.” 

They looked up at him curiously. “What distracted you?” They said before their eyes widened and they shook their head. “Y-you don’t have to answer that, I’m sorry-” 

“Oh, uh, I was just thinking about ghosts.” He answered truthfully. “I know they aren’t real,” He figured he should tack that on so he didn’t seem crazy. “But I was just thinking about the... logistics of ghosts. How they would work _hypothetically_ , I suppose.” 

“They are real.” 

“Hm?” Logan stared at them curiously. 

“I’ve- I’ve seen one. When I was a kid. I did a lot of research on them after that...” They explained. 

Logan’s eyes widened but ever so slightly. “What’s your name?” He asked after a pause. 

“My name is Virgil.” They brushed dyed violet hair out of their eyes. “Uh, it’s um... it’s a she/they pronoun day.” She told him tentatively. 

“Pleased to meet you, Virgil.” He replied, offering a hand to shake. “My name is Logan, he/him. Would you care to tell me a bit more about that ghost you saw?” 

* * *

“I still stand by my statement that you should just make him leave.” Janus declared, signing the same thing to their husband so he could be a part of the conversation. 

“ _That’s not very nice, Janus._ ” Patton signed back. He then turned to Remus. “ _Couldn’t you just ask him nicely to leave, kiddo?_ ” 

Janus continued to translate back and forth and Remus answered, “I did. He didn’t leave.” 

“Now, I, as someone who was _there_ , am not reliable _at all_ ,” Janus started. “But if I recall correctly, you basically took five minutes telling him to fuck off and then let him stay anyway.” 

“That’s not what happened!” 

“That is literally what happened.” Janus argued. “You may as well tell him you want him to stay, hun.” 

Remus scoffed angrily. “Oh, choke on a chainsaw, will you? Don’t act like I’m letting him stay because I’m horny for a guy I met yesterday! If I wanted to fuck him, I would have done it already.” 

Janus didn’t translate that _exactly_ word-for-word so as not to upset Patton with the vulgar language. “You said it, not me.” They snorted. 

“Yeah, because you fucking set me up for it, you walking piece of dead horse liver.” 

“Oh, so now we’ve resorted to crude name-calling? Marvelous.” Janus rolled their eyes. “Also, I don’t know if you noticed, but I haven’t felt the desire to walk in five... it’s been five years right, Pattoncake?” 

Patton counted on his fingers with his eyes crossed before answering, “ _I think it’s been four, Janus._ ” He signed in return. 

“Oh of course.” Janus shook their head. “Anyway, that is _most definitely_ my point.” They turned back to Remus. “Point is: I truly could not care less what you do with your... well, not _life_ -” 

“I’m not listening to you anymore.” Remus glared unnervingly. “He’s alive, I’m dead, and even if I was alive, I’ve literally known him for a day.” _Not even a day._ He told himself, trying and failing to push down his thoughts. _It doesn’t matter if he’s a tall drink of_ _yummy chemical_ _s-_

Janus stared intently at him. “Fine, then quit whining about him.” 

“Hah! I’ll complain all the fuck I want! Just try and stop me.” 

“ _Kiddos, let’s not fight, please._ ” Patton signed to Janus, donning a concerned expression. 

Janus immediately softened. “ _Okay... You’re right._ ” They replied and offered him a kiss in apology. Patton smiled at his spouse faintly before turning to Remus. 

“ _That goes for you, too._ ” He told Remus through Janus’s translations. “ _Let’s not fight with people, okay?_ ” 

“Sure, daddy.” 

Janus nearly choked on their own spit. Except they didn’t because they didn’t have spit. “I am not translating that.” They stated in irritation. 

* * *

“I was about nine, I think.” Virgil began, before they were interrupted. 

“Hey Stormcloud, wait!” The cashier in red and white waved for her to stop. “I wanna hear the story again, too.” 

“Don’t you have work to do?” Virgil asked, rolling their eyes and chuckling softly. 

“Oh shush, there’s not even anyone here besides you two, and it’s not like my parents care what I do.” 

Logan simply looked between the two of them trying to figure out what their relationship was. 

Virgil noticed his confusion and explained, “He’s my boyfriend. Roman, this is Logan. But I’m going to assume you have half a brain and already figured that out from eavesdropping.” 

“Hey!” Roman said. “I wasn’t _eavesdropping_ , I was just... overhearing.” He put his hands on his hips. “But that doesn’t matter. You can tell your story now; I just wanted to listen.” 

“I’m pretty sure you just want to hear me talk.” 

Roman put a hand to his chest and hung his head. “Alright you caught me, I’m a hopeless romantic.” 

“Thanks, Captain Obvious. I never would have guessed.” Virgil sassed. Logan couldn’t help but notice how drastically they seemed to differ from each other, one being sunny and shiny and the other being anxious and stormy, and yet they seemed to fit well together. 

“ _Anyway._ ” Virgil cleared her throat. “I was around nine, and it was about midnight in like, July or something. I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to go... I don’t know, get a cup of water or something- it doesn’t really matter. But I started to get out of bed, when I saw this, like... glow. By my window. It was pitch black outside because of the clouds, so it couldn’t have been the moon, and we lived in a place without streetlamps by my house, so there was no light coming from anywhere inside or outside my room. But there was a faint glow in the corner of my room, and then... I heard this... giggling. Like a little kid, younger than me at the time. It freaked me out so I ran upstairs and told my parents, but wouldn’t you know it, they didn’t believe me. I slept in the living room all that night and for a few weeks after that. If I went in my room at all, I ran in and out like the floor would kill me if I stood there too long.” They exhaled and let the first part of their story sink in before continuing. 

“A few years later, I had kinda forgotten about it. But some kids were talking about ghosts in class one day, and I thought of it again. I decided to do some research on it, like they always do in those kids’ books when the main character thinks their house is haunted. I found out that, apparently, a few months before my parents moved into my old house, there was this little girl named Clara Fields who died there. There was this whole newspaper story on it that I was too young to hear when we first moved in.” 

“You said this Clara appeared as a faint glow, correct?” Logan asked. 

Virgil nodded. “And she was giggling about something, very quietly. It was like the kind of laugh little kids have when they’re trying to be mischievous.” 

Logan looked down and furrowed his brow in thought. “Hm... Interesting.” He pulled out a notebook from his coat pocket and turned to an empty page. In neat handwriting, he wrote ‘Virgil’s Findings’ across the top of the page and then began jotting down major descriptions and bits of the story. 

“Aw, you didn’t tell him about the best part of the story.” Roman frowned. 

“What, the part, years after, where I humiliated myself in front of the entire rest of the class?” 

Roman shook his head. “No, the part where I saved you from your humiliation!” 

“You really didn’t.” 

“And yet, you still went out with me.” 

“Yeah, because I liked you, not because you clapped at my speech just before I had a panic attack." 

“You still thanked me for cheering you on.” 

“That doesn’t mean you saved me, and that was two years later.” 

“I totally saved you, you looked like you’d seen a ghost when you finished talking.” 

“I did see a ghost. Did you even listen to what the speech was about?” 

“Um, sorry to break up your argument, but did Clara say anything that resembled words?” Logan interjected. 

Virgil shook their head. “I just remember giggling. She was moving a little bit, though. She looked vaguely like she was running a bit in place. It almost looked like a sci-fi hologram sort of thing. But I’m sure she was a spirit of some kind.” 

“Hm, that is very peculiar...” Logan said, comparing Virgil’s descriptions to his previous notes on Remus and Janus. 

“What’s peculiar?” Virgil asked. 

“Oh, um.” Logan looked up suddenly. “Just... the ghost herself.” 

Roman raised an eyebrow at him but Virgil just nodded in agreement. “I also did a lot of research about ghost lore in general. Turns out there’s a lot of it when you look for it.” 

“I can imagine.” Logan said. 

“So, Logan.” Roman said, changing the subject. “Where’re you from? I haven’t ever seen you around town before.” 

“I moved near here from the city up north just yesterday, actually.” He answered, ignoring Roman’s odd tone. 

“Oh, are you familiar with the area?” Roman leaned casually against the wall to his right. 

“Roman,” Virgil interrupted him, shooting him a disapproving glance. “Don’t interrogate him.” 

“I’m not! I was just going to ask him if he wanted someone to show him around the area!” Roman insisted. 

Logan shook his head. “No, that’s quite alright. I appreciate the offer, though.” He stood up rather quickly. “Thank you for talking with me, Virgil- and Roman, but I should be going. I’ve got errands to run, after all.” 

“Alright, seeya later, Logan.” Virgil said, doing a quick finger gun gesture toward him as he walked away and left the store. 

* * *

“Did you go and buy the whole town?” Remus asked, lounging suggestively on one of the sofas as Logan walked into the living room from the entryway. 

“Um. No?” 

“Then what took so long? It’s like high-as-fuck noon by now.” 

Logan raised an eyebrow. “What, did you miss me?” 

Remus rolled his eyes. “No, I was just starting to get my hopes up you’d left.” He tapped his fingers rhythmically on the side of the sofa, ignoring the fact that they simply passed through the fabric. 

“I see.” Logan took a seat on the other sofa. “Can I ask you a few questions? You don’t have to answer all of them.” 

“About what?” Remus inquired. “The whole... being dead thing?” 

“Yes.” 

“Sure, why not.” 

Logan pulled out a notebook from his pocket. “Did you die in this house?” 

“I mean technically I died outside the house, but yeah.” Remus answered truthfully. Logan began writing in his notebook like this was an interview. 

“When did you die?” 

Remus made a show of counting on his fingers, as though he didn’t know immediately. “It was six years ago.” 

Logan stopped writing and looked up. “Six? I thought you said you’d been here for centuries.” 

“Hah! I changed my mind! I’m unpredictable like that.” 

“Changed your mind?” Logan shook his head in confusion. “What do you mean ‘changed your mind’? You can’t just change your mind-” 

“I was joking, nerd. Jesus. It was six.” 

Logan stared at him for a few extra seconds as though attempting to figure him out. “Alright then.” He said finally, clearly failing. 

“How did you die?” 

“Wow, we’re just diving right into the juicy stuff, are we?” Remus laughed defensively. 

“You don’t have to answer if it makes you uncomfortable to talk about.” 

“Me? Uncomfortable? Please, it’s _my_ job to make _other people_ uncomfortable.” 

“But you’re avoiding the question.” Logan observed. 

He was avoiding the answer, too. He didn’t want to think about it. _It was an accident._ He tried to convince himself. _A mistake._

“Remus?” 

“Next question.” Remus sat up and tried to grip the arm of the sofa. His fingers, again, passed through it in a most infuriating fashion. 

“Okay. I’ve noticed sometimes you’re visible, and other times not. Care to explain that?” 

That was something he could answer. “It’s magic.” He said simply, before giving a legitimate response. “I’m kidding, but it’s a thing ghosts can do after a while of being dead. You can kinda make yourself visible if you want, but I mostly use it just to freak out kids who think they’re ballsy coming here.” 

“Fascinating.” Remus couldn’t help but notice the way one could almost see Logan’s mind turning through the passion in his eyes as he processed this information. Grade A nerd alright. 

“Hmm. How old are you?” 

“Like, years since I was born, or how old I was when I died?” 

Logan stopped. “Was? Do you age as a ghost?” 

“Well sure.” Remus answered. “I definitely wasn’t twenty-two when I died.” 

“How old were you?” 

“I thought you were supposed to be smart. Do the math, Nerdy Wolverine.” 

Logan cleared his throat awkwardly. “R-right. So, sixteen then.” 

“Wrong!” Remus cackled. “I was fifteen.” 

“So you died before your birthday then? Which... would have then happened before today.” 

“Yes. See, things aren’t always that simple.” 

Logan took a deep breath and dropped his notebook in frustration. “Then _why_ didn’t you just tell me from the start!?” 

Remus laughed again. This man was sure fun to mess with. “Eh, gotta make you work for it.” 

“It is borderline impossible to learn anything from you.” 

“Only borderline?” Remus asked. “Well then I must not be trying hard enough.” 

Logan blinked. “Please do not exert effort into making this _more_ difficult.” 

“I’ll do what I want.” 

“Anyway...” Logan sighed. “If you can’t touch objects, how were you able to touch that chess set yesterday? Do you have a choice in what you’re able to touch?” 

“Not really, but there is a reason. Basically, I can’t touch anything—or, almost anything—in this house except the things I was touching when I died. The lines get a little blurry with some things, but for the most part that’s the rule. Now, with Janus’s chess set, that isn’t part of the house because it’s _Janus’s_ chess set. I can touch that, but I can’t touch the floor.” He demonstrated this by reaching down and sticking his fingers through the floorboards. 

“Interesting.” Logan made a note of this. “Can you touch other ghosts?” 

“No.” 

“Hm... Can you touch living people?” 

“I’ve never tried.” 

“If I own the house... Can you touch me?” 

Remus smirked. “Sure, if you want.” 

Logan’s face flushed. “I regret asking.” He adjusted his necktie and composed himself before asking, “You mentioned that ghosts can control visibility a time after being dead. How does that work?” 

“Well, I'm no expert. It's not like there was a “Handbook for the Recently Deceased” when I died. Not that I would have read it anyway. I'd probably just use it for a sad puppet show-” 

“So you don't know?” 

“No, but I think the longer you've been dead, the more... physically materialised you become. And with that, I think you develop scary ghost powers.” Remus waved his hands around on ‘scary ghost powers' to imitate a stereotypical ghost. 

“Hm... that would explain why Miss Clara was but a glow near the window, if she had died recently...” Logan said thoughtfully, taking more notes. 

“Who the fuck is Clara?” 

“She's the ghost of a little girl I heard about in a story.” 

Remus cocked an eyebrow at him. “What story's that?” 

Logan seemed to think for a brief moment. “Just something an acquaintance told me about.” 

“An acquaintance, huh? I wasn't aware you had friends.” 

“I don't. I said ‘acquaintance’.” 

“It's basically the same thing! Let me make fun of you.” Remus pouted. 

Logan sighed. “No it is not. Words mean things.” 

“Whatever, nerd.” 

Logan rolled his eyes. “Well, if you're done being cooperative, I'll go make some lunch.” He got up from the sofa and walked out of the living room into, presumably, the kitchen. 

Remus lingered for a moment, thinking about the conversation. The more he thought about it, he realised he didn't really know a lot about how this whole being dead thing [pt. 2] worked. He supposed it might be of interest to both himself and Logan if they were to run some experiments, test the limits, maybe kill a person. Well, that one might be a little harder to get Logan to agree to. But perhaps he'd run the idea by him at some point. 

He turned and followed him into the kitchen. 

**Author's Note:**

> A few notes for this chapter, I'm sure you probably realised, but Patton is deaf and his italicised dialogue is all sign language.  
> Also, you'll notice I'm bending the common ghost lore but I promise there are reasons for that. I did a lot of unnecessary math so please take my word for it.  
> (also sorry for the weird spaces around the italics, I don't know how to fix that besides going in and manually fixing each one)  
> Thanks for reading ladies, men, and enby friends and let me know if you have any questions or anything in the comments (or, y'know... comments in general are appreciated) and I'll see you next chapter!
> 
> ((idk why i do my end notes like youtube outros pls help))


End file.
